Jose Mourinho would love nothing more than to give Manchester United a good hiding today.

The Special One believes he should have had the job as manager after Sir Alex Ferguson left.

He will want to put major seeds of doubt into the minds of the owners as to whether United can reach the top four. And he will be eager to show Wayne Rooney that he should have moved to Stamford Bridge rather than mess him around last summer.

Mourinho feels he is the most powerful boss in the Premier League and as he orders his side to put the Reds to the sword he will be telling Old Trafford bosses: Look at what you could have had.

Jose is a master at getting what he wants and by firing political shots across the Premier League he makes his point.

That is what we have been seeing this week as he became the first boss from a big club to make a major January signing.

I maintain that the first half of this season was a hangover from failing to win the Champions League at Real Madrid and not landing the United job.

He was gutted about those things and one day I reckon we will read that in his autobiography. It was clear he was just not himself.

He had a dishevelled look and appeared a shadow of the man we used to know and love. But as his team flew under the radar he kept Chelsea in the hunt, however uninspiring some of the football was.

It could be the tale of the season. They were unspectacular while Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City were the talk of the table.

Yet trophies are won at the end of the season and that is why this man is now coming to life. It is time for business and when it comes to the ten-game run-in he will be ready to deliver.

Jose has recent experience of winning this league and will believe he can do it again. Today is a big step towards doing that.

Look through United's line up and apart from Adnan Januzaj there is not a single outfield player that would get in the Chelsea team.

(Image: Stu Forster)

That's a damning indictment of the reigning champions, and one Jose will be keen to exploit.

Arsene Wenger says there is no value in the market in January but he and Moyes could be left behind now that Nemanja Matic is back at Stamford Bridge.

Clubs were not expected to spend fees of £22million this month but Jose has done exactly that and suddenly everyone else is on the back foot.

His message: Can you keep up, lads?

In my view United and Arsenal now HAVE to spend, but are they brave enough and can they convince the club to back them in the same way Roman Abramovich has given his manager support?

Re-signing a player that the club had only recently got rid of is a bold statement and shows just how much Chelsea believe in his thinking.

Gaining the kind of power Mourinho has is not an easy thing. With Fergie at the helm, United know what it is like to feel invincible - but that has now faded and you wonder whether David Moyes can get to that level.

We should be careful before we slaughter Moyes because the team he inherited is a long way from the one Mourinho had to overcome during his last stint in England.

But when your only in-form player is a teenager who has suddenly burst onto the scene, you need an immediate plan to make sure you get back among the clamour for silverware.

I do not see today being a good one for United. With Rooney and Robin van Persie missing for the big clash, it is very difficult to see them recording the kind of result that makes us all reconsider the direction their season is heading in.

As for Mourinho, this is exactly the time we find out what his intentions are. He will not only want to beat United, he will want to embarrass them.